Africa

Water of Life

A Surge of Change

A Surge of Change

Brewing beer in parts of the world where water is already scarce is tough. Particularly when it's such an essential ingredient: over 90 percent of beer is actually water.

So we took a long hard look at our own water usage and cut out six billion litres from our production processes. But it still wasn't enough.

As a company with a long legacy of philanthropy to uphold and a deep-rooted presence in Africa, we knew we still had more to do. This is why, in 2007, GUINNESS® launched the Water of Life programme to provide safe drinking water to people across the continent.

Over the years we've collaborated with partner organisations to support desperately needed interventions such as boreholes, hand-dug wells, rainwater harvesting and domestic filtration devices.

“We took a long hard look at our own water usage and cut out six billion litres from our production processes.”

In Tanzania, a new borehole system and automated solar water pump and storage tank, which can provide 4,000 litres of water a day, has meant that 80,000 people in the Temeke district now have safe, clean drinking water.

In northern Uganda, we've set up training sessions on hygiene and sanitation management. And in Nigeria, we've opened a healthcare centre in the Adigbe community where up to 2,700 litres of water every hour goes through a six-stage purification process.

Since the programme started, we've completed over 200 projects in 18 countries and brought clean drinking water to ten million people. That’s change worth raising a glass to.